Thursday, March 1, 2012

I bought this card several years ago because I
liked the saying. I decided to frame it , and keep it on my desk as a reminder
for those moments when self-doubt began to creep in. And while that sounds like
a great idea, if I am truthful, it really has served more as a decoration than
an inspiration. Sure, I understand that leaping, or stretching yourself, is a
good idea. But the net that I often imagine has large person sized holes, just
big enough for me and my ideas to slide right on through.

As I
reflected on my 2011, I knew that I wanted some sort of jump start for 2012. I
had had some really awesome life altering experiences over the past 12 months
(LeaderShape being one of them), but I hadn’t really figured out how to make
the changes I knew needed to be made. I was feeling stuck. Feeling full of
potential and promise, but not sure where that potential and promise needed to
go. A New Year’s resolution felt too limiting. There were lots of individual
things I wanted to focus on, and choosing only one felt like I was taking the
easy way out. I also felt that a resolution might limit my success because my
hyper focus on one goal would take away from seeing the other possibilities
that were available. That’s when I decided to jump on board with the One Word
(http://myoneword.org/) movement.

My one
word for 2012 is brave (http://julieclarsen.com/2012/01/01/reverbbroads11-wrap-up/).
Each time I am unsure about something new, I remind myself, be brave. And being
brave doesn’t mean that I know it’s going to turn out okay, or that I know I
will succeed without any challenges. To me, being brave means that at the end
of every day I know that I have stayed true to my authentic self, whether that
meant taking a risk, speaking up for my ideals, or saying “no” when I knew I
already had too much on my plate. Being brave means not waiting until you know the
outcome will turn out the way you’d like, but instead taking that chance while
you can still affect the outcome.

“When we consider we are ready, it is already too late.” - Paulo
Coelho

The net
may not be where any of us want or hope it to be, but the reward for being
brave enough to take the risk will always be there to catch you.

Julie
Larsen served as Cluster Facilitator in June of 2011. She currently works as an
Academic Advisor for the University of Texas at Dallas and Community Manager
for AlumniChoose.org. You can find her on Twitter @julieclarsen.